A quick search for "dolphin lifespan" says around 20 years for a bottlenose. Since TFA mentioned Beggar had been around for 20 years, I'm not sure how much damage a bunch of redneck boaters feeding him beer and pork rinds really did in the long-run.

Not condoning feeding wild animals, and agree that feeding beer and pork rinds to a dolphin is probably not a good thing, but I'm curious to what the autopsy will reveal.

About a decade ago, two Keys dolphins, Bogey and Bacall, ended up emaciated begging at a Key West dock because some asshat released them from their cove ( please, no one start a captive-animal threadjack ) where they had plenty to eat naturally. Took them a long time to recover. I think they live in Key Largo now (in a captive facility, yes, because they can't survive in the wild).

Feeding dolphins, manatees, any wild animal is idiotic because they grow dependent.

And down here, "dolphinfish" are called dolphin, period. Caught nine about a month ago 30 miles off Islamorada. They're good fighters if they're decent size.

gilgigamesh:Cythraul: They tried to feed him beer. What kind of farking moron thinks it's cool to try and feed a dolphin beer?

This kind:

[www.heraldtribune.com image 728x546]

What an asshat. That is probably what killed it: Accidental poisoning by someone feeding it something it's body could not handle. Not all mammals are physiologically the same. What one species can ingest and process, others may not be able too. Is that so farking difficult a concept to wrap their heads around? If you have to break the law feeding it and it lives in the oceans and normally eats fish, then don't feed it beef or beer. Feed it fish!